In secret, behind locked gates, our Nation's Oldest City dumped a landfill in a lake (Old City Reservoir), while emitting sewage in our rivers and salt marsh. Organized citizens exposed and defeated pollution, racism and cronyism. We elected a new Mayor. We're transforming our City -- advanced citizenship. Ask questions. Make disclosures. Demand answers. Be involved. Expect democracy. Report and expose corruption. Smile! Help enact a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore. We shall overcome!

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Who wants to deregulate nurses or insurance adjusters? In response to hurricane? Madness. Only Florida House of Representatives Speaker Richard Corcoran. I know of no one who wants unskilled nurses or unethical insurance adjusters. Insurance adjusters come from out of state after a storm, and there's no shortage of them. As to nurses, what does Corcoran have in his cotton-pickin' mind? Allow anyone to call themselves a "nurse?"

Poorly regulated wetland and coastal development helped worsen the effects of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, suggesting we need more regulation, starting with developers. Did you know that any biped can call themselves a "developer," without licensing requirements? You must have a license to cut hair, polish nails, clean teeth, or practice law, but you can destroy wetlands at will by getting foreign money, an unethical lawyer or two, and say, "I'm a developer." This is sick. We need more regulation of unethical businesses, not less.

TALLAHASSEE — House Speaker Richard Corcoran said the Legislature could “immediately convene” a special session if needed in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

“We will get together right away and figure out what the governor can’t do via emergency action, and we will immediately convene a special session,” Corcoran told Fox News late Sunday.

He said trying to deregulate specific industries tied to the storm recovery could be the aim if lawmakers are called back to Tallahassee.

“We will deregulate nurses, we will deregulate insurance adjusters, we will deregulate whatever it takes to get people back into their homes and back into their lives.”

The House and Senate can collectively call a special session, or Gov. Rick Scott could call lawmakers back to the Capitol. The governor’s office and Senate President Joe Negron have not made public calls for a special session.

Lawmakers are set to return the second week of October for the first round of committee weeks in preparation for the 2018 legislative session.

The state's current-year budget was built with $4 billion in various reserve funds, and the state’s Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund has projected $18.6 billion in liquidity, according to a draft of the state’s 2018-19 long-range fiscal outlook. That number includes nearly $15 billion in cash by the end of 2017.

Moody's, the credit rating agency, issued a report Monday morning that found both the Florida State Board of Administration Finance Corporation and Citizens Property Insurance Corp. have substantial finance resources to help the State of Florida and its municipalities rebuild from Hurricane Irma’s damage.

The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund was established by the Florida Legislature in 1993 following the devastating Hurricane Andrew. It provides reimbursement coverage to 159 insurance companies across the state, including Citizens.

Moody's estimates that the FHCF has $17.5 billion for the 2016-17 contract year, "exceeding the fund’s statutory reimbursement limit." It found that Citizens "has built up significant resources" because so few major hurricanes have struck the state in 11 years. It estimates that Citizens has $13.3 billion, likely more funds than needed for a massive storm like Irma.